


Stardust

by EmotionalDorito



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, But only a lil bit of hurt comfort because if i dont have that my angsty brain cant cope, Fluff, Food mentions, Hurt/Comfort, Logan is a flustered brain boy, M/M, Physics, Tutoring, While Patton is babey, basically space gay meets cottagecore gay, extreme fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:00:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23691232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmotionalDorito/pseuds/EmotionalDorito
Summary: Patton Hart was failing physics. Logan agreed to help, unaware that his final exam was in only two weeks and of what a hard task keeping the boy's attention would be...With Patton’s grades and the possibility of going on a ‘not date’ to watch the meteor shower together on the line, will Logan find a way to keep his emotions in check while finding new and entertaining ways of teaching Patton?
Relationships: Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 21
Kudos: 57





	1. Chapter 1

_-15 days until the meteor shower-_

“Patton Hart?” Logan asked, hearing the door open behind him as he was writing _‘Physics’_ at the top of the whiteboard.

“That sure is my name! Thanks again for choosing to tutor me at such short notice! I really need the help!” 

Although he couldn’t see him, Logan could tell Patton was smiling, it was audible in his voice. Finishing off writing the date, he turned around. He began to blush. Before him was a freckled boy, with curly hair that brushed the rim of his round glasses and a wide grin on his face. He had bright pins with bubble writing on the lapel of his school blazer, most likely holding some of the puns he so often spoke.

It was at that moment he became incredibly thankful that Mr Picani offered him the spare classroom in the English department (which they legally weren’t allowed to teach classes in after an incident with a couple of ceiling tiles) to tutor in instead of the usual cramped all-purpose rooms. He doubted his heart could take such close proximity to Patton for the foreseeable future. It was just once a week he reassured himself.

“That’s okay, it’s a mutually beneficial agreement. You get support in physics and tutoring will look good on my university applications. You’re free to take a seat.” He gestured at the table near the front, facing the whiteboard.

Bouncing on his heels, Patton did just that, slinging his bag on the back of the chair. Logan pulled up a chair and sat across from him, avoiding eye contact, instead, looking through a textbook as if he was searching for something.

“First, let's assess your situation right now. Which part of the course are you struggling with?”

“All of it.” The lack of hesitation shocked Logan quite a bit, however, it was nothing he couldn’t teach in a few months. It was definitely possible. 

“Oh, that’s alright, that’s why we’re here after all. We can make up a revision schedule for you, when’s your final exam?”

“...two weeks. On the Friday!”

Logan’s jaw dropped. Two weeks? Two weeks?! 

He wasn’t ready for that. Although he wasn’t doing the same exams as Patton he assumed they would be around the same time at the very least. Where would he even start with teaching Patton? It was certainly not possible meeting once a week. Even he couldn't teach a year's worth of Physics in two weeks.

“Hey, Logan. Are you okay there? I know it’s quite short notice but just knowing something, anything you could teach me in the next two sessions beats going into the exam clueless.” 

Logan was never one to do things halfway. He gazed up to look into Patton's eyes. “I think we could make this work. It’ll take a lot of hard work and it would be a major commitment but it’s at the very least plausible. Are you willing to meet me here every day after school until your exam?”

Patton was taken aback. Logan looked so passionate about being able to do it. His fiery expression sparked the tiniest bit of faith inside him. 

“Sign me up!”

Logan smiled gently, realizing this may be one of his most ridiculous plans ever, but he may as well try. The two kept eye contact for a little longer than was expected. Logan’s mind was whirring with plans and ideas while Patton was still on a high from Logan believing in him. Gradually both returned to reality.

A beat passed, then another. 

In an awkward hurry, Logan stood up, walking over to the board. 

“Let’s start.” 

~~~

Patton couldn’t focus. Although it was clear Logan knew what he was teaching, it wasn’t enough to keep his mind occupied. Twirling a turquoise gel pen between his fingers, Patton forced himself to listen to Logan again.

He was speaking about Longitudinal Waves, whatever those were. Longitudinal sounded similar to a word he heard in geography just the other day. It was something to do with maps. Patton didn’t consider himself to be good with maps, quite the opposite. He went on a hike once, which ended in getting stranded with Roman on an unknown mountainside waiting for a mountain ranger to find them. From then on Roman was in charge of navigating their way on their trips. 

Roman did lead them to the most beautiful places, Patton thought to himself. He reminisced on the time they had gone on a bike ride found themselves on the outskirts an empty field, watching the sunset. The reds and yellows blended like watercolours. He tried recreating it once but while distracted he accidentally drank paint water instead of his tea. It was very bitter.

Although Patton disliked most bitter things, he loved dark chocolate. Not too dark because in his opinion it took away from the sweetness of chocolate, but it was perfect to bake with. In fact, he had used it when making Roman's birthday cake...

Just as fast as his attention drifted away, it returned fully, aware that there was a silence in the room. In a neat cursive, the words ‘ When you read this let me know’ were written on the whiteboard. Logan was leaning against it glaring at the hanging ceiling tiles. Most likely assessing the health risks Patton decided, based on what little he knew about his tutor. It did look a little dangerous in his opinion but it should be fine. 

Patton cleared his throat gently, getting Logan's attention. “Hiya.” The words came out choked as he felt his eyes starting to well up. 

He felt as though he failed Logan. He seemed so passionate to help but Patton let him down right away. Couldn’t even pull it together for ten minutes. He wouldn’t blame Logan if he walked away now, deciding tutoring Patton wasn’t for him. He probably deserved it. _No wonder he was failing physics_. 

When Logan met his eyes however he didn’t see disappointment, he saw determination. It threw Patton off.

“I’m sorry” he muttered.

“I didn't want to scare you by forcefully getting your attention. My teaching methods didn’t work for you, did they?”

“It’s not your fault!” He reassured Logan. “I’m just really bad at focusing in class. That’s why it’s two weeks until my exam and I don’t know anything.”

Logan adjusted his glasses. “Don’t speak about yourself like that. Everyone can learn, some people just need different methods. I will do my best to find a way to teach you that you’ll understand. _I promise.”_

“Oh…” He regained his grin. “Thank you.”

Logan sent Patton home early, telling him to get plenty of rest over the weekend, as he’ll have to work hard over the next two weeks if they were to succeed. His heart raced as he thought about all the time he was about to spend around Patton, however, he was looking forward to it a lot. He spent the rest of his evening devising a lesson plan for Patton, one that he believed could really work. 

Albert Einstein once said “If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself” and Logan strongly agreed. Whilst Patton was definitely not six, he believed the concept still applied. If he was as smart as he believed himself to be, Logan shouldn’t have many issues... hopefully.

Before sleeping he crossed off that day on his calendar, closer to the meteor shower. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm super excited to finally be posting the first part of this fic! I've got some great things planned and I hope y'all stick around for it. This originally started as an excuse to write instead of revising for a Physics quiz.
> 
> Feel free to visit me on my Tumblr @dreamydorito


	2. Chapter 2

_-12 days to the meteor shower-_

Logan walked into the classroom where, to his surprise, Patton was already waiting. He was sitting in the same seat as before, although this time he looked much more prepared. Before him, he had set out many coloured pens for taking notes along with a few highlighters. 

It brought Logan a strange amount of joy to say, “You won’t be needing any of that today.” He set the bag he’d been carrying down next to the table, excited to start the lesson he’d rehearsed. 

“Today, we’re going to be covering Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion. I’m sure you’ve heard of him! Is there anything you already know about him?”

“Was he the apple guy?” Patton suggested.

“He was! Speaking of apples, here’s one!” He pulled out a shiny red apple from his bag and set it down on the table. “Now, if I were to leave it here, what do you think would happen to it?”

“Oh, um, it would probably still be here tomorrow considering no one really comes in here anymore except us.”

“So you’d say it wouldn’t… _move spontaneously?_ ” 

“Probably...” Patton answered apprehensively, unsure if it was a trick question.

“That’s exactly right! If no forces act on it, it will remain at rest. That’s the first half of Newton’s first law of motion. The second half says that an object in motion will remain in motion if no exterior forces act on it.” Logan continued explaining, pausing midway to adjust his glasses. “By that logic, you could say that if I threw this apple straight up, it should keep going in that direction until stopped by the ceiling or something similar. Does that sound right?”

“Apple-solutely not! Unless physicists have some kind of cool magic powers my teachers didn’t tell me about.”

“Wow, way to go for the low hanging apple with that pun Patton.” Logan said, quite proud of his own joke.

Patton’s face lit up as he smiled at Logan’s comment. “I apple-aud your joke Logan, it was a thinker. It has impressed me to my core...my _apple core!”_

Logan groaned audibly. He had already exceeded his bad fruit joke threshold for the day. It was very low.

“How about I try it out?” Logan gently tossed the apple into the air and, unsurprisingly, after it got to its highest point it came back down, back into his open palm.

“You see, even though Newton’s first law is correct, I was misleading you there to prove a point. Because there _was_ an exterior force that was acting on the apple. Do you know what that is?”

“Gravity...right?”

That’s exactly right! Gravity affects everything on earth! There was an old tale about Isaac Newton that said he was sitting under a tree when an apple hit him, leading him to first consider the concept of gravity. It’s a blatant falsehood but still makes for a fun story.”

Logan spoke like a children’s television presenter, his expressions exaggerated, his voice full of joy and everything spoken at a slower pace than normal. It worked perfectly for Patton. Logan animated gestures kept his attention, the constant participation making him feel like he was learning.

The lesson continued smoothly. Logan proceeded to also use toy cars and ramps played with when he was younger to continue teaching Patton. To anyone walking past they would look near idiotic, each prop more ridiculous than the last.

Logan also used clever ways for Patton to remember facts. After learning Patton like Star Wars just like he did, he taught Patton a way to remember the equation for Force. 

“Repeat after me. May the mass times acceleration be with you.”

Patton giggled. “May the mass times acceleration be with you?”

“Mass times acceleration is the equation for finding force! If you repeat it enough times it should stick in your brain.”

Unfortunately, Logan’s lessons couldn’t be all fun and games, to Patton’s great dismay. He discovered this as their first week neared its end.

“Why does there have to be math in physics?” He groaned while leaning over the sheet of answers, all of which were marked as incorrect. “Can’t it all just be about pretty stars, and we can keep the demon subject out of it.”

Logan, who was sitting next to him, tried comforting Patton. “It’s okay Patton, you just need some more practice and you’ll be able to do these questions easily.”

“What’s the point, I’ll never get it by next Friday! I may as well just give up now.”

“Don’t say that Patton! This weekend I’ll just need you to do plenty of practice, we can exchange numbers so if you struggle with anything you can just message me or call me. In fact...I think I may have an idea to motivate you some more.”

Logan stood up, trying not to shake with the excitement for what he was about to propose to Patton. That was, if he accepted the offer.

“Next Saturday there’s a meteor shower I’ve been looking forward to. You mentioned pretty stars so if you do your work, and _only_ if you do your work and put effort into it, perhaps you’d be interested in accompanying me?” Logan looked down, fidgeting with nerves. “I was planning to bring my telescope so you could get a better look at a few of the stars, it would be a nice way to relax the day after your exam and...maybe it could be nice to spend some time together outside of studying?” Nervously, he added, “As friends of course!”

Daring to look at Patton, he saw that the boy looked like he was about to burst with excitement. He had a wide grin on his face and was practically bouncing in his seat. 

“Really? You’re going to take me to a real-life meteor shower! I would love that!” Patton exclaimed, bubbling with happiness.

“Remember, only if you do your work.” 

“I’ll do it, I promise!” Patton said eagerly as he stood up from his seat to jump with joy. 

Unbeknownst to Patton, he was standing directly under the least stable ceiling tile in the room, and his jumping was just enough for it to-

_CRASH._

Patton vaguely heard Logan shout something before the world went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to Sofia (@Fifia on ao3) for beta reading this chapter, she was an absolute miracle worker. 
> 
> Fun Fact- Whenever there's a super important fact or formula I have to note down for school, I doodle a tiny Logan next to it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Logan and Patton take a detour to a cafe on their way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings- Food/Eating
> 
> This is just a sweet fluffy chapter that ended up way longer than planned (which is fine by me!).

“I’m telling you, Logan, I’m _fine_ ,” Patton said as he walked down the school hallway. “You heard the school nurse, it’s probably nothing serious.”

“He also said there’s a chance of concussion and that you should be monitored for the next few hours. Although it is ultimately your choice and I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable, I’d like to walk you home, to ensure you arrive safely. What do you think?”

“Aw shucks!” exclaimed Patton. “I think that’d be very nice of you Lo. Only if you’re sure ya want to though, I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.”

Logan’s eyes widened at the accusation, “You could _never_ be an inconvenience, Patton. I hope you know that.” He smiled in the directions of his friend, who was still rubbing at his head. It must’ve hurt more than he let on, although Patton did appear to get out mostly fine, with the exception of a small scrape on his hand from when he fell to the floor. 

“Could you wait here for a moment?” Logan asked as he paused in his track. Patton agreed. Pulling out a blue ballpoint pen from his backpack side pocket, he wrote his and Patton’s name on the sign-up sheet he was standing next to.

“Whatcha doing?”

“Well, since we can’t go back to our usual classroom for fear of further injury, we’ll need a new place for our sessions. Although I don’t particularly like them…” Logan eyed the incredibly small room, “The all-purpose rooms are the only place we could get at such short notice. I’m booking the room for every day next week, after school. It should be...adequate.”

“Well alright then! Works for me! I haven’t used the all-purpose rooms since when Roman and I practised for our short-lived band. Turns out me playing the kazoo while Roman sang and played the tambourine didn’t sound the best, although we had a lot of fun!”

Logan chuckled. “I’m sure you too sounded well, or at the very least unique. It’s a shame I never heard the two of you perform.”

“You never know, we might have to do a reunion concert sometime, for all the folks who never got to hear the music of ‘The Ruffle Kittens.”

“‘The Ruffle Kittens?’ That’s a fascinating name. I even dare call it…’snazzy’.” The two laughed. There was just something about Patton that made him feel lighter than air. It made him feel relaxed, helped him actually enjoy small talk and conversation, which usually wasn’t his strong suit.

As the two walked out of the building, Logan realized he didn’t know which way he was going. He allowed Patton to lead the way. "I should ask, will there be anyone present in your home when you get back to metaphorically keep an eye on you?”

“Oh let me think! My mom should still be at work until later this evening,” Patton counted her off from the three fingers he was holding up. “My sister is staying at friend’s house today I think,” He said putting down another finger “My Dad gets home from yoga at 6 PM so he won’t be home for another” He pulled out his phone to check the time. “Forty minutes, and I only live ten minutes away.”

Logan considered his options “I don’t think you being alone today is a good idea. Although you seem fine you can never be too careful when it comes to possible concussions. How about we stop by a cafe for the remaining half hour? My treat.” He added quickly.

“More time with you that doesn’t involve me staring at numbers _and_ a warm drink? I’d love to!” Patton smiled, bouncing with excitement.

Logan put a hand on his shoulder gently “It might be best you don’t jump too much right now, just to be safe.”

“Alright Lo, if it’ll relax that brain of yours I’ll stop, although I’m feeling perfectly okay.”

There was a hint of a smile in Logan’s expression as he allowed Patton to lead their way, convinced there was bound to be a cafe somewhere in the area. He refrained from his usual speed walking to match Patton’s pace. It was nice. 

In the end, they ended up in a small cafe, a cozy place Logan had visited a few time in the past. Who knew he had been so near to where Patton lived? Thankfully it wasn’t too crowded, only a few small groups and individuals smattered across the warmly lit room. 

“Would you be fine if I ordered for us while you pick somewhere for us to sit? What would you like?” He asked as he took off his glasses, which had steamed up from the heat of the cafe, compared to the outside cold. Damn his younger self for ruining his eyesight reading in the dark.

Patton did the same with his own glasses, rubbing them against the sleeve of his cardigan. Logan used the glasses cleaning cloth he carried in his pocket. 

“Ooh, I’d love a hot chocolate if that’s alright?”

“Sure,” Logan said as he walked up to the counter, Patton going further into the room. Logan ordered, paid, collected his items then followed the general direction in which he saw Patton go. 

Logan found the boy sitting on a couch in the corner of the room. Logan sat down across the small table from him, putting down the two mugs and plate he had precariously carried with him, and settling into an old looking armchair.

“Thank you! What did you get for yourself?”

“It’s green tea.”

“Really? You seem like a coffee kinda guy!”

“I am. I used to drink around 4 cups a day until a few friends intervened claiming that it’s _‘not good for me’_ which I still refuse to believe. They made me promise no coffee after noon so green tea it is.”

“That’s very clever of your friends. Coffee always makes me feel really jittery. “ Patton nodded empathically. ”How about that muffin?”

“Oh, I wasn’t sure what you liked but I figured you could use with something sweet. I hope a blueberry muffin suffices.”

Patton gasped. “It’s for me? Oh my, that’s awful sweet of you! Thank you! And thank you for trying to take such good care of me. You’re a great friend.”

Logan looked mildly surprised. “We’re friends? I mean, that works for me if it works for you. It’s not that I don’t want to be your friend. I’d- I’d love to. I’m just...surprised.” Logan stumbled over his words. 

“How about this? I, Patton Hart, would like to be your friend. Does that work for you?”

“Yes, I would like that very much.”

“Great then it’s settled! We’re friends now!” Patton took a sip from his mug. His eyes grew wide. “Oh my goodness this is so good! This might just be some of the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had.”

Logan started to giggle, he couldn’t help himself. 

“What?” Patton asked.

“You have some whipped cream on your nose.”

“Oh, oops.” Patton laughed as he took out a tissue from his bag. “Thanks for telling me”

“No worries." Then Logan added, "I also just wanted to say that if you still want to go stargazing with me, which I hope you do, you don’t have to bring anything because I have everything covered. Just be sure to dress warm, it can get quite chilly at night.”

Patton grinned “I’d love to still go with you! It will be a nice way to relax after my physics final.”

Logan drank from his mug. The green tea was quite average but the warmth was greatly appreciated. “If you don’t mind me asking,” He shuffled in his seat, trying to find the right words. “Why did you take physics? It’s just that you appear to dislike it a lot.”

Thankfully Patton didn’t appear offended, although Logan couldn’t always tell. “To be completely honest, I just wanted to learn about space. It always seemed so interesting turns out the way it’s taught in class, it’s anything but interesting. I do still really it though, it’s beautiful.”

Logan felt outraged. How dare the teachers not share how incredible space was? How dare they dim the light of interest, curiosity and passion in someone? He had to make amends on their behalf. “Well, that simply won’t do. You wait and see Patton, I swear I’ll show you how wonderful space can truly be. You have my word.”

“That was a lot of words Logan, which one do I have?”

“You what? I- Well- That’s not what-” Logan stammered trying to make sense of what Patton just said, his mind failing him. 

Upon seeing Logan’s confusion Patton stopped laughing at his joke. “Never mind Logan, it was just a silly joke. That’s very sweet of you to promise, I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.”

Patton offered some of the blueberry muffin to Logan, who politely declined, before taking a bite out of it. “This is really good.” He mumbled with his mouth full. After eating more of the muffin, he paused to ask Logan a question. “So, is this what you want to do with your life? Physics?”

“It is, yes,” Logan said with a warm smile. “I have a real passion for physics. I’m going to get a PhD then become a physicist.” He spoke with full certainty, knowing he would achieve his dream. “How about you? Do you have any dreams you’re planning to pursue?”

“One day I want to run a flower shop! I may like space but I simply adore plants! That’s why I’m taking biology this year. That way not only will I know what colour of flower goes best with someone's eyes, but I’ll also be able to grow the bestest, most flourished plants possible!” His face lit up as he spoke. “I can already see it! The wall facing out would be almost all glass so there’s plenty of natural light, and the other walls would be painted a nice exposed brick for a lovely cottage vibe. There would be funny garden statues everywhere. Best of all, I’d be able to wear a cool apron that goes _swoosh_ when I spin. I could embroider little sunflowers on it!” He chattered away, listing off his various plans and ideas. 

Logan listened intently. Hearing Patton speak brought him such pure joy, he would listen all day every day if he could. He nodded along to Patton’s words, occasionally chiming in with an “Of course.” or a “You’re right.” when a surprising thought popped into his head. _‘Wow, I really want to kiss him.’_ His eyes widened as he realised what just happened, instinctively putting a hand over his mouth, despite not having said anything.

He pondered whether or not it made him a bad person that he was thinking that instead of focusing on flower shops, not even wanting to begin to consider the implications of that thought. What it meant about his relationship with him. It was at that moment he realised Patton had stopped speaking.

“You okay there, Lo? You seem to be distracted.”

What could he say? That he was too busy thinking that he liked Patton, that he _liked_ liked, or at least he thought he did. Perhaps that wasn’t the best idea. Instead, he opted for “I just remembered about some homework I’ve forgotten to write down in my planner, it’s alright though.”

“As long as you’re fine,” Patton said with slight suspicion. They chatted for a few more minutes, Logan doing his best to concentrate on the conversation.

Patton finished off the last of his muffin and hot chocolate, remembering to wipe his mouth and the hot chocolate moustache above it off with a tissue, at the same time as Logan finished his green tea. Checking the time he saw it was just past 6 PM.

“It looks like it’s time for you to get back home Patton,” he said, putting his outside coat back on.

“Well, would ya look at that. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun.” Patton said, shrugging his jacket on.

“I agree.” The pair walked out of the cafe. “Which way now?” Logan asked.

“Just down there.” Patton pointed and started heading in that direction, Logan by his side.

“How are you feeling currently?” Logan asked.

“The small amount of pain I was in has already worn off. I’m feeling good as new.” Patton reassured him.

“Just be careful tonight, okay? Avoid exercise, get plenty of sleep tonight and seek medical attention if you start to experience any unusual symptoms like nausea.” He glanced down at Patton’s hand. “You should take that plaster off before you head to sleep so the scrape can get plenty of air and heal,” Logan instructed.

“You got it, Doc!” Patton said. “I just realised that in the kerfuffle we forgot to actually exchange numbers. What’s yours?” 

Logan dictated his telephone number as Patton typed into his phone. A moment later there was a buzzing from his bag. He pulled out his phone, seeing a message from an unknown number _‘this is patton ^w^'_.

“Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any help with the work this weekend, I’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible,” Logan told him, trying not to smile. The way Patton texted was too cute for him, although lacking the proper punctuation Logan insisted on using in messages.

Patton stopped outside a nice-looking two-storey house with a small garden in front of it. “Whelp, this is me.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay from here Patton?” Logan checked one more time. 

“I will be, I promise! And I know I’ve already said this but thank you for taking such good care of me today!” He pulled Logan into a hug, which surprised Logan. As quickly as it started, it was over, and Patton was taking out keys from his coat pocket. 

Walking into the house he called out “Have a nice weekend!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks!! I'm really excited to be posting this update! Consider the sheer amount of fluff in this chapter as me apologizing for the (kinda lame) cliffhanger last time. I'm _incredibly_ excited for the next chapter cause it's what I've really been building up to, so keep an eye out for that!
> 
> I hope you all have a lovely day and are staying safe!


End file.
